Environmental Management System – Documented Information
Environmental Management System 8.1.19 Discharge to drain
Issued: February 2021
Author: Emily Ingram and Hayley Beharrell
Approved by: Heidi Smith
Review date: March 2022
Clause Ref: Ecocampus and ISO14001(2015)
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Discharge to drain
1 Purpose
The University is committed to ensuring all activities undertaken on its premises are to the
highest possible standards of safety, health and environment.
This document is relevant for all operations associated with disposal of substances to the
University’s drain network. It provides clear guidance on what can and cannot be disposed
of to drain in order to maintain legal compliance and protect the environment, in particular
aquatic life present on campus and across the locality.
2 Definitions
Ecotoxic waste: Waste, which presents or may present immediate or delayed risks for one
or more sectors of the environment
Nanoparticles: A nanoparticle (including nanopowder, nanocluster, nanocrystal) is a
microscopic particle with at least one dimension less than 100 nm1.
Senior Management: person or group of people who direct and control an organisation at
the highest level.
Trade effluent: Any liquid other than domestic sewage (toilet, bath or sink waste) or
uncontaminated surface water and roof drainage (rainwater).
3 Responsibilities
Sustainability Team
The Sustainability Team is responsible for:
Providing information and guidance to disposal to drain requirements (this document and ad hoc emails/information requests)
Acting as the primary point of contact for Welsh Water
Supporting staff in the update or renewal of existing discharge consents
Supporting staff in obtaining new discharge consents or letters of authorisation, if required, for new projects
Offering members of staff and students support, as required
Director of PSU/Deputy Director of PSU
The Director of PSU/Deputy Director of PSU are responsible for:
Ensuring all staff and students working within their area are aware of the ‘Disposal to Drain’ requirements (this document)
No disposal to drain of substances detailed in Section 5.2
1 https://www.sciencedaily.com/terms/nanoparticle.htm, accessed 08 November 2019
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Estates and Facilities Management – Projects and Technical Services Teams
Estates teams are responsible for:
Ensuring contractors and sub-contractors are aware of the ‘Disposal to Drain’ requirements (this document) and the requirement for no disposal to drain of substances detailed in Section 5.2
Prior to undertaking a new project, liaising with the Faculty/PSU Environment Officer to ensure compliance with discharge consent conditions. Information to be provided to include:
o List of materials to be disposed to drain (e.g. chemical, biological etc.)
o Volume to be discharged over time period (in m3)
o Concentration of contaminants and pH o Drain shown on the drainage plan (that any
new builds will be connected to and / or the discharge will be entering)
PIs/Project Managers, Technical Operations Team (Faculties), Technicians, Laboratory Owners
PIs/Project Managers, Technical Operations Team (Faculties), Technicians, Laboratory Owners are responsible for:
Ensuring all staff/students working within their project/grant are aware of the ‘Disposal to Drain’ requirements (this document)
No disposal to drain of substances detailed in Section 5.2
Prior to undertaking a new project (research or teaching), liaising with the Faculty Environment Officer to understand whether the discharge is within the consent conditions, information to include:
o List of materials to be disposed to drain (e.g. chemical, biological etc.)
o Volume to be discharged over time period (in m3)
o Concentration of contaminants and pH
Staff and students Staff and students are responsible for:
No disposal to drain of substances detailed in Section 5.2
Prior to undertaking a new project (research or teaching), liaising with the Faculty/PSU Environment Officer to understand whether the discharge is within the consent conditions, information to include:
o List of materials to be disposed to drain (e.g. chemical, biological etc.)
o Volume to be discharged over time period (in m3)
o Concentration of contaminants and pH
Contractors and sub-contractors
Contractors and sub-contractors are responsible for:
Ensuring all staff working on the project are aware of the ‘Disposal to Drain’ requirements (this document)
No disposal to drain of substances detailed in Section 5.2
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4 Related Documents
Adverse Event Procedure: University system for reporting and investigating adverse events via the website
Chemical Waste Store Users Procedure: Guidance to Swansea University staff and students on the liquid chemical waste disposal process.
Contractor’s Safety and Code of Conduct Policy Arrangements: Guidance for Contractor’s onsite and how they must manage their discharge to drain
Drainage Plan – Bay Campus: A plan mapping all surface and foul water drains at Swansea University’s Bay Campus. Available on request from the Sustainability Team.
Drainage Plan – Singleton Campus: A plan mapping all surface and foul water drains at Swansea University’s Singleton Campus. Available on request from the Sustainability Team.
Risk assessments: Templates available on the website from H&S including a general, biological and chemical.
Waste Management Guidance Note 20 Chemical Waste Classification and Storage Guidance: Guidance to Swansea University staff and students on the classification of chemical waste.
5 Process
Under the Water Industry Act 1991, Swansea University is subject to ensuring that all trade
effluent discharges into a public foul sewer have the permission, known as consent, of the
relevant local water undertaker (Welsh Water) before any discharges commence. Any
water discharged into the public foul sewer will be released (after off-site treatment) in
Swansea Bay.
In order to minimise the University’s environmental impact on the local environment
(waterbodies and aquatic life) the organisation operates a “Zero to Drain” policy as far as
reasonably practicable, which means any discharge of materials hazardous to the
environment should be avoided.
5.1 Consent and authorisation
The University holds a number of consents with the relevant regulatory body (Welsh
Water) for the discharge of trade effluent into the public drainage network. These
consents are subject to conditions and regular review by Welsh Water.
If new discharges are proposed or current activities change, the Sustainability Team should
be notified as soon as possible (during the risk assessment process) in order to assess if:
1. A new consent application needs to be formulated
2. A current consent needs to be amended to include the new activity e.g. increasing
discharge volumes or different contaminant levels
3. Operations fall under an existing consent e.g. within the same area, but not
increasing discharge above the permitted volume and with same contaminant
levels
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There will be a cost associated with options 1 and 2, which will be borne by the requesting
party. It is the responsibility of all individuals discharging substances to drains to satisfy
themselves that such a discharge is permitted. Advice can be sought from the Faculty’s
Environment Officer and/or via the Sustainability Team. Failure to review and confirm if
activities are adequately consented may lead to enforcement from the regulatory bodies
(legal and financial penalties).
5.2 Banned or restricted substances
5.2.1 Solids
The disposal of solids or semi-solid waste materials is prohibited. Materials that cannot be
described as liquid must be disposed of via alternative means. There is a comprehensive
suite of Waste Management Guidance Notes (WMGN)2 available for staff and students to
reference what services are in place for a wide variety of waste materials. The
Sustainability Team, upon request, can provide further guidance.
5.2.2 Liquid chemical waste
The disposal of chemicals and other liquid wastes via the drain (and subsequently the
public foul drainage network) is not the primary or preferred method of disposal.
Adequate assessment of liquid waste must be part of risk assessments and safe operating
procedures prior to work commencing, with guidance sought from the Sustainability Team
(as required). If you are planning on discharging liquid to drain and it will be greater than
1m3 per day and /or contains more than 2 mg/L of metals (those not included in the bullet
points below), you must contact the Sustainability Team to ensure the correct permissions
are in place.
Any discharge going to drain must be between pH 6 and 11, as per Welsh Water
requirements. In addition, discharge of the below may not occur under any circumstances
to foul sewer via any University sink (laboratory, fume cupboard, floor drains or otherwise)
or open drain:
Compounds of the following elements: - antimony, arsenic, barium, beryllium,
boron, cadmium, chromium, cobalt, copper, lead, mercury, molybdenum, nickel,
selenium, silver, tellurium, thallium, tin, titanium, uranium, vanadium and zinc.
Organohalogen, organophosphorus or organonitrogen pesticides, triazine
herbicides, any other biocides.
Cyanides and compounds containing cyanides
Mineral oils and hydrocarbons
Poisonous organosilicon compounds, metal phosphides and phosphorus element
Fluorides and nitrites
Live microbiological cultures
Corrosives (acids and bases)
Oil and grease including mineral oils and oil emulsions
Tar and tar oils
2 Access online https://staff.swansea.ac.uk/professional-services/estates-and-facilities-management/our-services/sustainability/waste/
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Paints and varnish
Phenols, cresols and simple derivatives
Organo‐halogen compounds, including pesticides, herbicides (their residues) and
degreasing agents
Any substance that can or has the potential (when mixed with other compounds) to
cause a nuisance (e.g. smell)
Any substance that produces flammable, harmful or toxic vapours (e.g. solvents,
petroleum spirit)
Beer
Nanoparticles
Note: If you have very low concentrations (e.g. 0.01M or 0.1M) and require disposal to
drain contact your local Environment Officer to confirm whether a consent may be possible
and the requirements (e.g. between pH 6 and 10 and high dilution when discharging to
drain).
In addition to this, any substance that is identified as environmentally hazardous cannot be
disposed of via the drain network. This can be checked by reviewing the hazard/risk
phrases on a substances packaging and/or Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) and for
looking out for symbol shown in Figure 1 and hazard phrase HP14 - Ecotoxic.
Figure 1: Hazard symbol ‘Dangerous for the environment’
Table 1 below (taken from the WMGN3: Waste Classification - Guidance on the
classification and assessment of waste3) outlines the relevant information for the
classification of waste that would be deemed to be ecotoxic. These are category codes and
hazard statement codes users should be aware of.
Table 1: Hazard class information
Hazard class and category code(s)
Hazard statement code(s)
Description
Aquatic acute 1 H400 Very toxic to aquatic life
3 https://staff.swansea.ac.uk/professional-services/estates-and-facilities-management/our-services/sustainability/waste/
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Hazard class and category code(s)
Hazard statement code(s)
Description
Aquatic chronic 1 H410 Very toxic to aquatic life with long lasting effects
Aquatic chronic 2 H411 Toxic to aquatic life with long lasting effects
Aquatic chronic 3 H412 Harmful to aquatic life with long lasting effects
Aquatic chronic 4 H413 May cause long lasting effects to aquatic life
Ozone H420 Harms public health and the environment by destroying ozone in upper atmosphere
5.3 Nanoparticles
If you are working with nanoparticles you must not dispose to drain, instead follow the
process detailed in Section 5.4. Due to the size of the nanoparticles there is a risk of
bioaccumulation in sea life if disposed to drain. To understand how the materials should be
disposed of check the associated MSDS.
5.4 Accepted disposal
Any hazardous chemicals detailed in Section 5.2 and those with hazard classifications
shown in Table 1 must be disposed to the Chemical Waste Store, in line with the Chemical
Waste Store Users Procedure (see footnote 2). All nanomaterials must be disposed of in-
line with ‘Waste Management Guidance Note 33 Nanomaterials Waste’.
5.5 Accidental discharge to drain
If a volume greater than 1m3 or containing any chemical compounds detailed in Section 5.2
is accidentally discharged to drain the following process must be followed:
Notify laboratory technician (if applicable) and space owner/manager of the
accidental discharge
Contact your Faculty specific Environment Officer
Raise an adverse event through the on-line ‘Report it!’ system4
If deemed necessary your Faculty’s Environment Officer will notify Welsh Water and any
other applicable regulatory bodies. In addition, an investigation will be undertaken in-line
with the University’s Adverse Event Procedure.
6 Effects and Actions on Non Conformance
Failure to comply with this procedure may result in:
4 Report it! system: https://www.swansea.ac.uk/about-us/safety-and-security/health-and-safety/report-it/
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Non-conformance with the requirements of EcoCampus and the ISO 14001:2015 standard.
Departure from this procedure is addressed in the procedure 10.1 Nonconformity and Corrective Action
7 Version Control
Date Version Update
Feb-2021 0 New document
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